Ford 5610 II Special

modirt

Member
Am interested in one of these, but having done an Internet search, cannot seem to find an answer to what the "Special" designation means. Best guess is it was an early attempt at an economy model, prior to moving production to Mexico and changing designation to S. Not sure I've ever heard what the "S" stands for either, unless it was short for Special too.

Anyway, what should I be on the lookout for on the Series II Special? Good? Bad? Ugly?
 
I think the official designation for the "S" was "special". I feel that the word "stripdown" better suits the letter.

It was my understanding that all "S" tractors were built in Mexico.
 
One of the biggest things I didn?t like about them was that they only used haft the number of brake disc in them and then wanted us to use them on bids to the municipalities who tend to work them hard, then several years later they were already coming in for brake replacement.
 
Is your reference to brakes for the S or the 5610 II Special?

I had pretty much ruled out a Mexico made S economy version, but if the II Special is not much better........????????
 
While we are on the subject of the 5610, is it correct to say the 5610 and 6610 share the same basic chassis and overall frame size and dimensions? And perhaps transmission? The main difference being the engine?

Or is it the 6610 and 7610 that are similar frames?

Sorry if these seem like dumb questions. Still trying to get up to speed on these.
 
Quite a few were bought by goverments for mower tractors they were a price leader single hydraulic remotes 7.50 16 fronts and 16.9 rear tires.
 
(quoted from post at 17:37:35 11/29/18) While we are on the subject of the 5610, is it correct to say the 5610 and 6610 share the same basic chassis and overall frame size and dimensions? And perhaps transmission? The main difference being the engine?

Or is it the 6610 and 7610 that are similar frames?

Sorry if these seem like dumb questions. Still trying to get up to speed on these.

5610, 6610 and 7610 are all the same basic chassis
5610 has a 256 ci engine
6610 has a 268 ci engine
7610 has a turbo charged 268 ci engine.
 
When you say basically the same except for engine, does that include transmission, hitch and drawbar options too? Will the same loader fit them all?

So if you had a 5610 or 6610 and the engine went bad, could you swap in a bigger engine?

I looked at a Ford 6700 that the seller said had an engine off a 7610......as the original 6700 engine had been damaged.

There is currently a 6610 on CL that has a blown engine, but otherwise may be OK. Wondering how hard it would be to find a replacement engine and put it back to use?
 
(quoted from post at 08:00:19 11/30/18) When you say basically the same except for engine, does that include transmission, hitch and drawbar options too? Will the same loader fit them all?

So if you had a 5610 or 6610 and the engine went bad, could you swap in a bigger engine?

I looked at a Ford 6700 that the seller said had an engine off a 7610......as the original 6700 engine had been damaged.

There is currently a 6610 on CL that has a blown engine, but otherwise may be OK. Wondering how hard it would be to find a replacement engine and put it back to use?

5610 and 6610 are the same tractor except for the cubic inch size of the engine, both have the same 4.4 bore but the 268 engine in a 6610 has a longer stroke.
That said there can be a number of differences in the tractors depending on year build and what options it came with.
Ford made several changes during the production run of the 10 series tractors.
Although the 7610 engine will fit the 6700 chassis I'm not sure if it's a direct fit everything works or if modifications to some components where required.
 
(quoted from post at 09:02:04 11/30/18) The government buys......were they the 5610 II Special or just the 5610S models?

As has been said, the "S" at the end of the model designates "Special" and indicates that it was built in Mexico. What is it about this tractor that makes you want to call it a "Special" instead of an "S" and try to make out that there is a difference between the two? Is it the decals, or just what the seller is calling it? Look it up on the part site, there are no xx10 series model with "Special" in the model number/name, only those with the "S", which stands for "Special".
 

I think there's a bit of confusion between the S models built in Mexico from 93 or 94 to the end of production and the Blue Power Special models that where only built in 81.
Tiger Mower also used the Ford 6610 chassis to build a mower tractor they called the Tiger Special but this was not a name used by Ford.
 
The tractor is a 91. Below the 5610 decal is the designation II, and below that, is the word "Special".

I guess more will be known about it soon. I made an offer and it was accepted, so we can dissect it to the Nth degree once gifts are exchanged and it is here. If I knew how to post pictures, I would be happy to do so.

I"m sure I'll have a ton of questions.
 
OK, think I figured it out.


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Doing some search I've found 2 5610 Series II Specials, they where 91, 92 models, both had the same features, hydrostatic steering, 8x2 non dual power trans, non folding rops, a single closed center deluxe remote but did not have dual pumps, I've never seen that feature before.
I can not find any mention of this Special model on sites I've googled.
 
(quoted from post at 19:23:08 11/30/18)
Doing some search I've found 2 5610 Series II Specials, they where 91, 92 models, both had the same features, hydrostatic steering, 8x2 non dual power trans, non folding rops, a single closed center deluxe remote but did not have dual pumps, I've never seen that feature before.
I can not find any mention of this Special model on sites I've googled.

they had tobacco specials, so I tend to believe these might be a special mod built in basildon. Question is... what was special about these???? SO looking at the serial numbers will most likely tell you where they were built. There is something about the special and basildon in the back of my head.
 
(quoted from post at 09:23:30 11/30/18)
(quoted from post at 08:00:19 11/30/18) When you say basically the same except for engine, does that include transmission, hitch and drawbar options too? Will the same loader fit them all?

So if you had a 5610 or 6610 and the engine went bad, could you swap in a bigger engine?

I looked at a Ford 6700 that the seller said had an engine off a 7610......as the original 6700 engine had been damaged.

There is currently a 6610 on CL that has a blown engine, but otherwise may be OK. Wondering how hard it would be to find a replacement engine and put it back to use?



5610 and 6610 are the same tractor except for the cubic inch size of the engine, both have the same 4.4 bore but the 268 engine in a 6610 has a longer stroke.
That said there can be a number of differences in the tractors depending on year build and what options it came with.
Ford made several changes during the production run of the 10 series tractors.
Although the 7610 engine will fit the 6700 chassis I'm not sure if it's a direct fit everything works or if modifications to some components where required.

As luck would have it, one day AFTER I strike a deal on the 5610, the 6700 comes back on the market:

https://columbiamo.craigslist.org/grd/d/6700-ford-tractor/6760462589.html

From a "utility" standpoint, would love to hear opinions on how this row crop tractor would stack up against the normal utility tractors like the 5610, 6610, etc.. Biggest plus I can see is the elevated platform, which gets you up and away from the transmission and any heat.

I know when I was looking at it, there is a big difference with the dash, gauges, etc, plus the console on the right side is far and away better and more convenient. The look and feel of a BIG tractor, not unlike some the the JD stuff I grew up on.

When I was looking at finding a loader to put on it, however, choices were very few. Said to be the same tractor as a 7700, so should have been more widespread than it would seem.
 
Another question.......hopefully won't ignite any wars.......what are the recommended lubricants for these tractors? (5610 etc.).

I'm running AGCO 851 hydraulic fluids in an Allis and a neighbor's Massey.

Will that work for hydraulics and other? Or what should I be using?

And what oil for the engine?

Anything else to make sure of?
 
(quoted from post at 06:46:25 12/01/18)
(quoted from post at 19:23:08 11/30/18)
Doing some search I've found 2 5610 Series II Specials, they where 91, 92 models, both had the same features, hydrostatic steering, 8x2 non dual power trans, non folding rops, a single closed center deluxe remote but did not have dual pumps, I've never seen that feature before.
I can not find any mention of this Special model on sites I've googled.

they had tobacco specials, so I tend to believe these might be a special mod built in basildon. Question is... what was special about these???? SO looking at the serial numbers will most likely tell you where they were built. There is something about the special and basildon in the back of my head.

Serial Number: BC91274
 
That serial number does indicate that it was assembled at the Basildon plant. It also indicates that it was made in 1991. My reference documents for model numbers fizzles out right around then.

What is the model number? A regular 5610 Series II should start with LA4. A 5610S (Mexican made) should start with EM3 or EM4.
 


After October 85 basildon, taking over for romeo....
Page 115... other american variations on the Force II range included the LCG, Special Utility, Tobacco Special, and Mudder.

May 87 was when they showed the customer colors supplied to Arkansas, kansas, Kentucky, Alabama, Ohio, and Missouri markets for NASO... yellow, orange and white....

So yes, there were Specials, at least two variations. the utility being more of a mowing tractor for the states and counties.
 
(quoted from post at 05:43:48 12/05/18) That serial number does indicate that it was assembled at the Basildon plant. It also indicates that it was made in 1991. My reference documents for model numbers fizzles out right around then.

What is the model number? A regular 5610 Series II should start with LA4. A 5610S (Mexican made) should start with EM3 or EM4.

Hmmmmm.....an EM3 "Special" made in England?


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And a few more features.........

block has the grid on the side.......and injector pump.....

and duel remotes on each side? Remote controls also located right and left.........


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So this "Series II Special" appears to be the precursor to the Mexican made "Special", with perhaps features of both?

BTW, 8:2 transmission.

So what have I got?
 
As I said, my reference documentation fizzles out around 1991, and there are some hand scribbled notes next to EM3 and EM4 that says "Mexico" followed by a question mark, so maybe the EM3's were the "Special" models made in Basildon and the EM4's were the "S" models made in Mexico? The person who made that note didn't seem to know for sure, and acording to the person that sent me the scanned pages, the person that made the notes was supposedly someone who was a service tech at a Ford dealership at the time.
 
(quoted from post at 17:36:27 12/12/18) As I said, my reference documentation fizzles out around 1991, and there are some hand scribbled notes next to EM3 and EM4 that says "Mexico" followed by a question mark, so maybe the EM3's were the "Special" models made in Basildon and the EM4's were the "S" models made in Mexico? The person who made that note didn't seem to know for sure, and acording to the person that sent me the scanned pages, the person that made the notes was supposedly someone who was a service tech at a Ford dealership at the time.

That would be great information, and you are lucky to have it. But it also seems to me there should be a way to document what a Model EM314C is from some official source. Features, history, etc.

This was represented to my as a one owner tractor, so I had hoped the owners manual that came with the tractor might come with it, but the owner said he couldn't find it. Don't know if the replacement manual from places like this site would cover it. Would cost about $40 to find out, and even then, information might be generic and not specific to the features of this particular model.

If anyone has an original manual that covers this particular model, I'd be curious to know what it says.
 
The model designator strings, which were the first 3 characters of the model number, were never documented for the end consumer as far as I know. From what I was told, the scanned pages I have were from a publication that only went to dealership service departments. Some of the model designator information for specific series of tractors is in the factory service manuals for those series, but as for having it all in one place, the reference document I was given is the only place I've seen it. Even that isn't all inclusive, as I've come across model variations that weren't listed there, as well as additional transmission and PTO codes, and even engine codes.

You can check out the PDF I put together that includes everything in that document as well as additional information I've picked up elsewhere here:

[u:381dfdd484]Nouveau Redneck's Cosmopolitan Workshop[/u:381dfdd484]
 
Yikes! That points out a couple things.......first is how many different models of tractors Ford made......each and every one unique in it's own way, and second.....lacking "official" documentation on what this model has, one seems to be left with only two other ways to document features.......have the original invoice (window sticker?) that came with the tractor that may have listed all it's unique features (dealer would have had to have something like that to price it and market it to buyers), or else 30 years down the road where we are now, a knowledgeable person just has to go over it with trained eyes to ID the features as they find them.

BTW, my intent with all this is to ID what a Series II "Special" is, so others who may encounter one will know what it is and has so they can decide if that is what they want. Apparently it is not well known.......even to experienced folks on this site.

I thought I was getting an OK deal on a nice Series II tractor made in England......it may be a simple economy base model...but still pretty good......or it may be closer to the economy tractors made in Mexico. Perhaps if we study it long enough we can figure it out?
 

New info from another site... not mine...

Len,

A lot of the difference is age. The 5610 replaced the older 5000 and 5600 series tractors. The 5610 II was a newer, more refined version with some better features than the 5610. Both had the same engines. The 5610 S is a similar tractor that replaced the 5610 II. The 5610 S was built during the Ford/New Holland merger era. T[b:a9cae1b0d3]he 5610 S had a different engine. It was a New Holland engine, and speced out a little differently than the Ford engine found in the older Type I and Type II's if memory serves me correctly.[/b:a9cae1b0d3]



A new holland engine.... from where? Basidom?
 
(quoted from post at 14:38:45 12/13/18)
https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cgi-bin/viewit.cgi?bd=ford&th=554948

When I started my search for the Series II "Special", that thread was the only one I found on the Internet. And still a lot of speculation on what it might be, features, etc.

I've read where desirable features on the Series II were duel hydraulic pumps and deluxe remotes. Where would each of these pumps be located......how would I know?.......and what is the difference between standard and deluxe remotes? Sorry if it seems silly, but this is my first Ford, so I'm still learning.

Another question.......it has a loader that is run off the two rear remotes. Lift control on right side, bucket tilt on the left of the seat. Seems odd that they split them up like that. So what I'm wondering is how hard it would be to tap into the hydraulics and pipe it to a joystick control?
 

Main pump should be in the right side of the rear axle center housing. I'm not 100% sure on that model but I think it should be below the flow control valve. The second pump would be on the left side of the engine back near the flywheel.

As to the loader, you could probably tie into the hydraulics to power a joystick. Again, I'm not 100% familiar with that model, but I think that you would probably have to add a hydraulic adapter plate under the remote valves to do it.
 
(quoted from post at 10:30:05 12/14/18)
Main pump should be in the right side of the rear axle center housing. I'm not 100% sure on that model but I think it should be below the flow control valve. The second pump would be on the left side of the engine back near the flywheel.

As to the loader, you could probably tie into the hydraulics to power a joystick. Again, I'm not 100% familiar with that model, but I think that you would probably have to add a hydraulic adapter plate under the remote valves to do it.

OK, looks like it does have the 2nd pump. Primary pump probably runs the 3 point? Second, the remotes?

And both remotes look like this. (for some reason photo appears to be rotated 90* left....it isn't anywhere else) Are these the "deluxe" or other?

Remotes are fed by this "manifold" on top of the transmission case. Is this where you would tap in for a joystick?

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(quoted from post at 09:39:21 12/14/18)
(quoted from post at 10:30:05 12/14/18)
Main pump should be in the right side of the rear axle center housing. I'm not 100% sure on that model but I think it should be below the flow control valve. The second pump would be on the left side of the engine back near the flywheel.

As to the loader, you could probably tie into the hydraulics to power a joystick. Again, I'm not 100% familiar with that model, but I think that you would probably have to add a hydraulic adapter plate under the remote valves to do it.

OK, looks like it does have the 2nd pump. Primary pump probably runs the 3 point? Second, the remotes?

And both remotes look like this. (for some reason photo appears to be rotated 90* left....it isn't anywhere else) Are these the "deluxe" or other?

Remotes are fed by this "manifold" on top of the transmission case. Is this where you would tap in for a joystick?

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The fill hole for the hydraulics looks a lot better than the one on the 6610.
 

That is the dual pump system with the deluxe remotes, not sure how you plumb a loader directly to that system but my neighbor as a joystick loader valve plumbed into one set of remotes leaving the second one free for other apps.
Not the best way but it works.
 
(quoted from post at 07:50:01 12/15/18)
That is the dual pump system with the deluxe remotes, not sure how you plumb a loader directly to that system but my neighbor as a joystick loader valve plumbed into one set of remotes leaving the second one free for other apps.
Not the best way but it works.

My dad ran a JD 3020 and loader with single set of remotes this way for over 30 years. Hoses run from the remote to a two lever manifold bolted to the right fender. The control lever for the tractors hydraulic remote is pushed up held up with piece of baling wire. It's always baling wire....... :roll:

But at the least, a person could probably do the same thing with a joystick. Since lift and tilt are never done at the same time with a joystick, one remote might well power the whole thing.

In addition to the loader being easier to operate with the joystick (vs. the two low levers, right and left), freeing up one remote would be good when it comes time to use her for pulling my haybine. You can always pull one set.....the bucket tilt. But perhaps more likely since this is a quick attach loader is to drop the loader entirely during hay season (square bales, so no loader needed to move big rounds). Nice to have the loader completely out of the way.
 
But what is also becoming clearer as you guys fill in the gaps, this Series II "Special" is NOT a stripped down economy version like the S versions that followed.

It is what I had hoped it would be. It does not have Duel Power transmission.....it has the 8x2 crash box......but I can live with that.
 
It turns out the mechanic that does my heavy lifting is familiar with most things Ford, and is capable of helping me sort out the hydraulics so we can move the controls for the loader.......but......he is asking me to get him an IT Service Manual for this particular Ford.

Jensales, ebay and others all seem to have only one choice.

Does anyone know which service manual I need specific to this particular tractor? Or is there only one?
 
I have a FO-42 IT manual, I got the manual from TSC. The book covers some things but not everything. If they have service manuals or parts, I would rather get that because that goes into more detail.
 
I'm told the IT manual is more or less a crib notes version that assumes user has some knowledge and just needs the specifics as to what is being looked at. The IT manual I found at Jensales is about 180 pages and is about $32 in cost. The full blown service manual runs 1,800 plus pages and costs nearly $300 or more.

I think my guy only needs the IT manual, but it does need to be specific to this 5610 IIs model. The ones from Jensales and even on ebay don't say what they cover except a 5610, 5600, 5000, 6610 etc. They don't say which series, models, serial numbers, etc. The owner's manuals do, but service manuals I've found don't.
 
(quoted from post at 09:31:27 01/22/19) I have a FO-42 IT manual, I got the manual from TSC. The book covers some things but not everything. If they have service manuals or parts, I would rather get that because that goes into more detail.

Found this FO-42 on ebay.....

https://www.ebay.com/itm/I-T-FORD-F...h=item4b5a427579:g:j2AAAOSwr7ZcMSzM:rk:6:pf:0

Top right of cover says that manual obsoletes all previous.......so I guess I need to know if the 42 is what I need, or if there was a later version for Series II, etc.
 
I'm not sure which I&T Manual would be the correct one for that tractor, but I wanted to clarify that the I&T manual is more like a Clymer or Haynes manual for cars or motorcycles rather than crib notes. Most of the information is the same as the factory manual, but it is arranged differently due to copyright laws. You can't copyright actual technical information or data, but you can copyright how it is arranged and presented.
 

My factory service manuals says "Tractors Series 10, 30"
They cover all of the 10 series and early 30 series from the 2610 to the 7710 and the 3230 to the 4630.
It doesn't list the specific models on the front like my 1000 series manuals do.
 
(quoted from post at 10:15:53 01/22/19)
My factory service manuals says "Tractors Series 10, 30"
They cover all of the 10 series and early 30 series from the 2610 to the 7710 and the 3230 to the 4630.
It doesn't list the specific models on the front like my 1000 series manuals do.

Full blown 1800 page service manual....or IT manual?

Does it also differentiate between say a 10 Series I, II or S? They are all a 5610 but I suspect some of the components, like hydraulics systems, valves, pumps, etc. are still different.
 

The 6 volume set covers the series I and II but haven't seen anything in them pertaining to the later S series.
There's a 7 volume set that covers the later 30 series as well, probably covers the S series to.

A quick glance showed the single and dual pump models and rebuilding the deluxe remotes, but nothing about adding a loader valve.
 
(quoted from post at 18:47:56 01/22/19)
The 6 volume set covers the series I and II but haven't seen anything in them pertaining to the later S series.
There's a 7 volume set that covers the later 30 series as well, probably covers the S series to.

A quick glance showed the single and dual pump models and rebuilding the deluxe remotes, but nothing about adding a loader valve.

Thanks. Finally got a call back from Jensales on the FO-42 IT service manual. It does not have any date or references as to series, serial numbers, models, etc. They finally resorted to going through the IT manual and Operators Manuals, side by side to compare the photographs in each to guess if they matched up.

Seems silly but it is what it is, so will take a chance on one.
 
(quoted from post at 08:37:46 01/23/19)
(quoted from post at 18:47:56 01/22/19)
The 6 volume set covers the series I and II but haven't seen anything in them pertaining to the later S series.
There's a 7 volume set that covers the later 30 series as well, probably covers the S series to.

A quick glance showed the single and dual pump models and rebuilding the deluxe remotes, but nothing about adding a loader valve.

Thanks. Finally got a call back from Jensales on the FO-42 IT service manual. It does not have any date or references as to series, serial numbers, models, etc. They finally resorted to going through the IT manual and Operators Manuals, side by side to compare the photographs in each to guess if they matched up.

Seems silly but it is what it is, so will take a chance on one.

Update:

The FO-42 arrived today, this one was an original off ebay and not a reprint. Clearly shows a Copyrite date of 1985 on the bottom of the 2nd page.

So if IT was dated in 1985, and as per Tractordata, Series II were made from 86 to 93, and the S tractors after that, then the FO-42 does NOT cover my Series II or S tractors. Also, on the 5610, 6610, etc. the Series references are left blank. So best guess is this covers Series I but not II.

So either there is another, later IT manual that covers the Series II and S tractors, or Ford just skipped it. Hard to believe they would have done the latter.
 
So either there is another, later IT manual that covers the Series II and S tractors, or Ford just skipped it. Hard to believe they would have done the latter.

I&T is a separate company that makes after market Service Manuals. Whether they did or did not make a manual covering a specific model of Ford tractor has nothing to do with Ford.

Sounds like you need to get the real Ford manual.
 
And one other thing.

When I bought this one owner tractor, seller could not find the operators manual. So in order to get up to speed as soon as possible, I got a 5610 Series II reprint off ebay. No date on that, but it has Ford/New Holland all over it, so probably from the latter years.

But soon after that, I was given an original 5610 operators manual, which came out of box of old manuals retained by a former Ford dealer. Curious that one has no publication date on it either.

But point to the story is these two are not the same. Photos and written materials are different, both as to format and content. One curious difference I've found relates to the hydraulic remotes and how to use them to power a hydraulic motor. Old manual says to use the top or "lift" port as the pressure line to the remote hydraulic moter; the newer reprint manual says to use the bottom or "lower" port as the pressure line to the motor. Since they are double action, closed center remotes, they should work either way, so real difference. Perhaps they found it a better choice to put the control lever in the lower position, which is adjacent to the float position, and over time, that was a better way of doing it?

But whatever the case, this raises another question as to the validity of these manual reprints. Are they actual reprints of the same material or have they been transcribed, with potential for errors?
 
(quoted from post at 06:31:48 01/29/19)
So either there is another, later IT manual that covers the Series II and S tractors, or Ford just skipped it. Hard to believe they would have done the latter.

I&T is a separate company that makes after market Service Manuals. Whether they did or did not make a manual covering a specific model of Ford tractor has nothing to do with Ford.

Sounds like you need to get the real Ford manual.

Well that was one of the more helpful replies I've gotten in a while. Between the mechanics who asked me to get them an IT manual, Jensales staff and all who have responded so far, yours was the first time anyone has mentioned that the IT manual was not from Ford. That explains a lot.
 

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